Strategic Council Online – Note: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent trip to Iraq, after his last visit to Baghdad 13 years ago, is considered one of the most important political, economic, and security developments in the relations between the two countries.
Hamid Khoshayand- an expert on regional issues
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on subcontinental issues said that India and the United Arab Emirates are working on the first phase of the creation of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, known as the IMEC Corridor (ArabMed), which is an alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz and China’s Silk Road plan. Although there are some speculations that with the continuation of the war in Gaza and the unrest in the Middle East, work on this corridor may be sidelined.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Caucasus affairs said: Following news reports that the Kremlin has implicitly confirmed that Russian peacekeepers are withdrawing from the Nagorno-Karabakh region and taking their weapons and equipment with them, this question is seriously raised: Does Russia want to hand over the South Caucasus region to the West?
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: The Zionist regime is trying to “psychologically exploit” the recent events in the region to divert the world public opinion from the crimes this regime is committing in Gaza. Examining the atmosphere prevailing in the political and media circles of the Zionist regime and the centers aligned with it at the regional and international level shows that this regime seeks to “highlight and dominate” the recent tensions with the Islamic Republic of Iran so that it could reduce the heavy pressure that is felt in the domestic, regional, and international public opinion and even European governments against the Gaza war.
Hamid Khoshayand – expert on regional issues
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on regional issues said: One of the strategic and long-term dimensions of Iran’s tough missile-drone response to the Occupied Territories will be the further withdrawal of the Zionist regime from its positions in the Gaza war.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on West Asian issues said: In the last hours of April 14, the Islamic Republic of Iran launched a missile and drone attack against the Occupied Territories, which continued until the next morning. This was despite Iran’s prior notification to some regional and transregional countries about the certainty of our country’s response and military action; America and Israel could not prevent this attack.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A Caucasus affairs expert said: “If the trend of divergence among regional countries, especially Armenia and Azerbaijan, from Russia accelerates, Russians may show a more serious reaction and even prevent the traditional regional order change using force.”
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on European issues said that France’s relations with the Republic of Azerbaijan have become tense due to the dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Strategic Council Online: Note: The increase in people’s support for far-right parties in the parliamentary elections of Italy, France, Finland, and the Netherlands will make the upcoming elections of the European Parliament the most competitive elections in the history of the European Parliament. But considering the growing popularity of far right-wing groups in Europe and the increasing possibility of their victory in the polls, it will sound a warning for Europe.
Mahmoud Fazeli, Analyst of international affairs
Strategic Council Online—Opinion– The passage of 21,000 vessels and the transit of 57% of the world’s energy through the Bab al-Mandeb route has turned this region into one of the most important routes for the transfer of goods globally. A considerable amount of crude oil, diesel, and other oil products from the Middle East are transported to Europe, and Russian oil goes to India and China through this route.
Mahmoud Fazeli—Analyst of international affairs
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis, who traveled to Britain for an official visit, was ignored by the host in an undiplomatic move, and his planned meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was canceled and caused tension between the two countries. Following Sunak’s decision to cancel the meeting, security measures to be implemented for the Greek delegation were also canceled, which was a sign of the height of disrespect to the Greek Prime Minister. This British move is due to the differences between the two countries over returning the historic Parthenon statues, which are illegally kept in the London Museum, and Britain refuses to return them.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Members of the European Parliament recently criticized Turkey’s approach towards Russia and the country’s non-compliance with Moscow’s sanctions, lack of restricting Russian media amid that country’s special military operations in Ukraine, strengthening trade relations with Russia, Turkey’s hosting Russian citizens and Ankara’s refrain from joining European sanctions against Russia. In its report, the European Parliament expressed concern over Turkey’s decreasing alignment with the foreign and defense policy of the European Union. From the point of view of the European Parliament, Ankara and Brussels should find other ways for cooperation other than Turkey’s accession to the European Union because accession is not possible at present.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: The recent meeting of foreign ministers of Turkey and Greece in Ankara was held in a friendly atmosphere under the influence of Greece’s aid to Turkey following the two deadly earthquakes in Turkey and then Turkey’s condolences to Greece for the deadly train accident earlier this year. This meeting was held after the meeting of Turkish President Erdogan and Greek Conservative Prime Minister Mitsotakis on the sidelines of the NATO meeting in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, in July. In recent negotiations, the foreign ministers of the two countries discussed old disputes such as the Cyprus issue, the stalled process of Turkey’s membership in the European Union and illegal immigration, the framework for strengthening economic and commercial cooperation, and the development of cooperation in fields such as transportation, maritime cooperation, trade, and technology, environment protection and fighting against natural disasters.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: During the visit of the Indian Prime Minister Modi to Greece, which is considered the first visit of the prime minister of that country after 1983, topics such as the gradual improvement of bilateral relations with Greece and a broad framework of bilateral cooperation focusing on the economic, tourism, agriculture, and defense sectors, establishing direct flights between the two countries and climate changes were discussed. Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis considers India a factor of peace and security and a bridge of cooperation between the three continents, considers this trip a “turning point,” and hopes that the relations will be upgraded to a “strategic partnership.” He has announced that the target of the conservative Greek government is to double the value of trade between the two countries in the next four years.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: The informal meeting of the leaders of the Western Balkan countries and the Balkan countries that are members of the European Union was held at the initiative of Mr. Mitsotakis, the conservative Prime Minister of Greece, and attended by Mrs. von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, Charles Michel, President of the European Union Council, and Mr. Zelensky, President of Ukraine. The Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, prime ministers of Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, and North Macedonia, the president of Moldova, the president of Montenegro, and the president of Serbia also participated in the meeting.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Although the United States withdrew its support for the ambitious 2,000-kilometer Eastern Mediterranean natural gas pipeline project, known as EastMed, about a year and a half ago, its consortium known as Posidon, which consists of “Depa,” the operator of Greek Gas Network and “Edison” Energy Group, continues its engineering studies which are expected to be completed by the end of 2023.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announced during the recent visit of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Egypt that his country is considering a quadrilateral meeting in Cairo between the heads of Egypt, Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus to discuss the tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean and bring together views regarding the demarcation of maritime borders and the possibility of Turkey joining the East Mediterranean Gas Forum.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Eight years after military aggression and civil war in Yemen, 22 million Yemeni people, equivalent to two-thirds of the country’s population, live with humanitarian aid. The extent of the suffering of Yemeni children due to the deterioration of livelihood and health conditions after years of siege and war in that country is indicative of a humanitarian disaster in Yemen. The catastrophic situation of Yemeni children requires increased efforts to provide emergency aid to deal with such a crisis and save the lives of millions of children. International organizations have announced that 11 million Yemeni children need immediate support and aid, and more than 2 million suffer from severe malnutrition. Children are the biggest victims of such a dire situation, which in those few years have been dealing with death, hunger, displacement, physical disabilities, health problems and diseases caused by lack of food or unhealthy nutrition, lack of medical system, unsafe water, and bad economic condition.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Note: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent trip to Iraq, after his last visit to Baghdad 13 years ago, is considered one of the most important political, economic, and security developments in the relations between the two countries.
Hamid Khoshayand- an expert on regional issues
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on subcontinental issues said that India and the United Arab Emirates are working on the first phase of the creation of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, known as the IMEC Corridor (ArabMed), which is an alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz and China’s Silk Road plan. Although there are some speculations that with the continuation of the war in Gaza and the unrest in the Middle East, work on this corridor may be sidelined.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Caucasus affairs said: Following news reports that the Kremlin has implicitly confirmed that Russian peacekeepers are withdrawing from the Nagorno-Karabakh region and taking their weapons and equipment with them, this question is seriously raised: Does Russia want to hand over the South Caucasus region to the West?
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: The Zionist regime is trying to “psychologically exploit” the recent events in the region to divert the world public opinion from the crimes this regime is committing in Gaza. Examining the atmosphere prevailing in the political and media circles of the Zionist regime and the centers aligned with it at the regional and international level shows that this regime seeks to “highlight and dominate” the recent tensions with the Islamic Republic of Iran so that it could reduce the heavy pressure that is felt in the domestic, regional, and international public opinion and even European governments against the Gaza war.
Hamid Khoshayand – expert on regional issues
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on regional issues said: One of the strategic and long-term dimensions of Iran’s tough missile-drone response to the Occupied Territories will be the further withdrawal of the Zionist regime from its positions in the Gaza war.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on West Asian issues said: In the last hours of April 14, the Islamic Republic of Iran launched a missile and drone attack against the Occupied Territories, which continued until the next morning. This was despite Iran’s prior notification to some regional and transregional countries about the certainty of our country’s response and military action; America and Israel could not prevent this attack.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A Caucasus affairs expert said: “If the trend of divergence among regional countries, especially Armenia and Azerbaijan, from Russia accelerates, Russians may show a more serious reaction and even prevent the traditional regional order change using force.”
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on European issues said that France’s relations with the Republic of Azerbaijan have become tense due to the dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Strategic Council Online: Note: The increase in people’s support for far-right parties in the parliamentary elections of Italy, France, Finland, and the Netherlands will make the upcoming elections of the European Parliament the most competitive elections in the history of the European Parliament. But considering the growing popularity of far right-wing groups in Europe and the increasing possibility of their victory in the polls, it will sound a warning for Europe.
Mahmoud Fazeli, Analyst of international affairs
Strategic Council Online—Opinion– The passage of 21,000 vessels and the transit of 57% of the world’s energy through the Bab al-Mandeb route has turned this region into one of the most important routes for the transfer of goods globally. A considerable amount of crude oil, diesel, and other oil products from the Middle East are transported to Europe, and Russian oil goes to India and China through this route.
Mahmoud Fazeli—Analyst of international affairs
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis, who traveled to Britain for an official visit, was ignored by the host in an undiplomatic move, and his planned meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was canceled and caused tension between the two countries. Following Sunak’s decision to cancel the meeting, security measures to be implemented for the Greek delegation were also canceled, which was a sign of the height of disrespect to the Greek Prime Minister. This British move is due to the differences between the two countries over returning the historic Parthenon statues, which are illegally kept in the London Museum, and Britain refuses to return them.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Members of the European Parliament recently criticized Turkey’s approach towards Russia and the country’s non-compliance with Moscow’s sanctions, lack of restricting Russian media amid that country’s special military operations in Ukraine, strengthening trade relations with Russia, Turkey’s hosting Russian citizens and Ankara’s refrain from joining European sanctions against Russia. In its report, the European Parliament expressed concern over Turkey’s decreasing alignment with the foreign and defense policy of the European Union. From the point of view of the European Parliament, Ankara and Brussels should find other ways for cooperation other than Turkey’s accession to the European Union because accession is not possible at present.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: The recent meeting of foreign ministers of Turkey and Greece in Ankara was held in a friendly atmosphere under the influence of Greece’s aid to Turkey following the two deadly earthquakes in Turkey and then Turkey’s condolences to Greece for the deadly train accident earlier this year. This meeting was held after the meeting of Turkish President Erdogan and Greek Conservative Prime Minister Mitsotakis on the sidelines of the NATO meeting in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, in July. In recent negotiations, the foreign ministers of the two countries discussed old disputes such as the Cyprus issue, the stalled process of Turkey’s membership in the European Union and illegal immigration, the framework for strengthening economic and commercial cooperation, and the development of cooperation in fields such as transportation, maritime cooperation, trade, and technology, environment protection and fighting against natural disasters.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: During the visit of the Indian Prime Minister Modi to Greece, which is considered the first visit of the prime minister of that country after 1983, topics such as the gradual improvement of bilateral relations with Greece and a broad framework of bilateral cooperation focusing on the economic, tourism, agriculture, and defense sectors, establishing direct flights between the two countries and climate changes were discussed. Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis considers India a factor of peace and security and a bridge of cooperation between the three continents, considers this trip a “turning point,” and hopes that the relations will be upgraded to a “strategic partnership.” He has announced that the target of the conservative Greek government is to double the value of trade between the two countries in the next four years.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: The informal meeting of the leaders of the Western Balkan countries and the Balkan countries that are members of the European Union was held at the initiative of Mr. Mitsotakis, the conservative Prime Minister of Greece, and attended by Mrs. von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, Charles Michel, President of the European Union Council, and Mr. Zelensky, President of Ukraine. The Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, prime ministers of Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, and North Macedonia, the president of Moldova, the president of Montenegro, and the president of Serbia also participated in the meeting.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Although the United States withdrew its support for the ambitious 2,000-kilometer Eastern Mediterranean natural gas pipeline project, known as EastMed, about a year and a half ago, its consortium known as Posidon, which consists of “Depa,” the operator of Greek Gas Network and “Edison” Energy Group, continues its engineering studies which are expected to be completed by the end of 2023.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announced during the recent visit of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Egypt that his country is considering a quadrilateral meeting in Cairo between the heads of Egypt, Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus to discuss the tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean and bring together views regarding the demarcation of maritime borders and the possibility of Turkey joining the East Mediterranean Gas Forum.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Eight years after military aggression and civil war in Yemen, 22 million Yemeni people, equivalent to two-thirds of the country’s population, live with humanitarian aid. The extent of the suffering of Yemeni children due to the deterioration of livelihood and health conditions after years of siege and war in that country is indicative of a humanitarian disaster in Yemen. The catastrophic situation of Yemeni children requires increased efforts to provide emergency aid to deal with such a crisis and save the lives of millions of children. International organizations have announced that 11 million Yemeni children need immediate support and aid, and more than 2 million suffer from severe malnutrition. Children are the biggest victims of such a dire situation, which in those few years have been dealing with death, hunger, displacement, physical disabilities, health problems and diseases caused by lack of food or unhealthy nutrition, lack of medical system, unsafe water, and bad economic condition.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online: Note: The increase in people’s support for far-right parties in the parliamentary elections of Italy, France, Finland, and the Netherlands will make the upcoming elections of the European Parliament the most competitive elections in the history of the European Parliament. But considering the growing popularity of far right-wing groups in Europe and the increasing possibility of their victory in the polls, it will sound a warning for Europe.
Mahmoud Fazeli, Analyst of international affairs
Strategic Council Online—Opinion– The passage of 21,000 vessels and the transit of 57% of the world’s energy through the Bab al-Mandeb route has turned this region into one of the most important routes for the transfer of goods globally. A considerable amount of crude oil, diesel, and other oil products from the Middle East are transported to Europe, and Russian oil goes to India and China through this route.
Mahmoud Fazeli—Analyst of international affairs
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis, who traveled to Britain for an official visit, was ignored by the host in an undiplomatic move, and his planned meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was canceled and caused tension between the two countries. Following Sunak’s decision to cancel the meeting, security measures to be implemented for the Greek delegation were also canceled, which was a sign of the height of disrespect to the Greek Prime Minister. This British move is due to the differences between the two countries over returning the historic Parthenon statues, which are illegally kept in the London Museum, and Britain refuses to return them.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Members of the European Parliament recently criticized Turkey’s approach towards Russia and the country’s non-compliance with Moscow’s sanctions, lack of restricting Russian media amid that country’s special military operations in Ukraine, strengthening trade relations with Russia, Turkey’s hosting Russian citizens and Ankara’s refrain from joining European sanctions against Russia. In its report, the European Parliament expressed concern over Turkey’s decreasing alignment with the foreign and defense policy of the European Union. From the point of view of the European Parliament, Ankara and Brussels should find other ways for cooperation other than Turkey’s accession to the European Union because accession is not possible at present.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: The recent meeting of foreign ministers of Turkey and Greece in Ankara was held in a friendly atmosphere under the influence of Greece’s aid to Turkey following the two deadly earthquakes in Turkey and then Turkey’s condolences to Greece for the deadly train accident earlier this year. This meeting was held after the meeting of Turkish President Erdogan and Greek Conservative Prime Minister Mitsotakis on the sidelines of the NATO meeting in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, in July. In recent negotiations, the foreign ministers of the two countries discussed old disputes such as the Cyprus issue, the stalled process of Turkey’s membership in the European Union and illegal immigration, the framework for strengthening economic and commercial cooperation, and the development of cooperation in fields such as transportation, maritime cooperation, trade, and technology, environment protection and fighting against natural disasters.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: During the visit of the Indian Prime Minister Modi to Greece, which is considered the first visit of the prime minister of that country after 1983, topics such as the gradual improvement of bilateral relations with Greece and a broad framework of bilateral cooperation focusing on the economic, tourism, agriculture, and defense sectors, establishing direct flights between the two countries and climate changes were discussed. Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis considers India a factor of peace and security and a bridge of cooperation between the three continents, considers this trip a “turning point,” and hopes that the relations will be upgraded to a “strategic partnership.” He has announced that the target of the conservative Greek government is to double the value of trade between the two countries in the next four years.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: The informal meeting of the leaders of the Western Balkan countries and the Balkan countries that are members of the European Union was held at the initiative of Mr. Mitsotakis, the conservative Prime Minister of Greece, and attended by Mrs. von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, Charles Michel, President of the European Union Council, and Mr. Zelensky, President of Ukraine. The Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, prime ministers of Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, and North Macedonia, the president of Moldova, the president of Montenegro, and the president of Serbia also participated in the meeting.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Although the United States withdrew its support for the ambitious 2,000-kilometer Eastern Mediterranean natural gas pipeline project, known as EastMed, about a year and a half ago, its consortium known as Posidon, which consists of “Depa,” the operator of Greek Gas Network and “Edison” Energy Group, continues its engineering studies which are expected to be completed by the end of 2023.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announced during the recent visit of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Egypt that his country is considering a quadrilateral meeting in Cairo between the heads of Egypt, Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus to discuss the tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean and bring together views regarding the demarcation of maritime borders and the possibility of Turkey joining the East Mediterranean Gas Forum.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Eight years after military aggression and civil war in Yemen, 22 million Yemeni people, equivalent to two-thirds of the country’s population, live with humanitarian aid. The extent of the suffering of Yemeni children due to the deterioration of livelihood and health conditions after years of siege and war in that country is indicative of a humanitarian disaster in Yemen. The catastrophic situation of Yemeni children requires increased efforts to provide emergency aid to deal with such a crisis and save the lives of millions of children. International organizations have announced that 11 million Yemeni children need immediate support and aid, and more than 2 million suffer from severe malnutrition. Children are the biggest victims of such a dire situation, which in those few years have been dealing with death, hunger, displacement, physical disabilities, health problems and diseases caused by lack of food or unhealthy nutrition, lack of medical system, unsafe water, and bad economic condition.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Note: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent trip to Iraq, after his last visit to Baghdad 13 years ago, is considered one of the most important political, economic, and security developments in the relations between the two countries.
Hamid Khoshayand- an expert on regional issues
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on subcontinental issues said that India and the United Arab Emirates are working on the first phase of the creation of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, known as the IMEC Corridor (ArabMed), which is an alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz and China’s Silk Road plan. Although there are some speculations that with the continuation of the war in Gaza and the unrest in the Middle East, work on this corridor may be sidelined.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Caucasus affairs said: Following news reports that the Kremlin has implicitly confirmed that Russian peacekeepers are withdrawing from the Nagorno-Karabakh region and taking their weapons and equipment with them, this question is seriously raised: Does Russia want to hand over the South Caucasus region to the West?
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: The Zionist regime is trying to “psychologically exploit” the recent events in the region to divert the world public opinion from the crimes this regime is committing in Gaza. Examining the atmosphere prevailing in the political and media circles of the Zionist regime and the centers aligned with it at the regional and international level shows that this regime seeks to “highlight and dominate” the recent tensions with the Islamic Republic of Iran so that it could reduce the heavy pressure that is felt in the domestic, regional, and international public opinion and even European governments against the Gaza war.
Hamid Khoshayand – expert on regional issues
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on regional issues said: One of the strategic and long-term dimensions of Iran’s tough missile-drone response to the Occupied Territories will be the further withdrawal of the Zionist regime from its positions in the Gaza war.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on West Asian issues said: In the last hours of April 14, the Islamic Republic of Iran launched a missile and drone attack against the Occupied Territories, which continued until the next morning. This was despite Iran’s prior notification to some regional and transregional countries about the certainty of our country’s response and military action; America and Israel could not prevent this attack.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A Caucasus affairs expert said: “If the trend of divergence among regional countries, especially Armenia and Azerbaijan, from Russia accelerates, Russians may show a more serious reaction and even prevent the traditional regional order change using force.”
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on European issues said that France’s relations with the Republic of Azerbaijan have become tense due to the dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Strategic Council Online: Note: The increase in people’s support for far-right parties in the parliamentary elections of Italy, France, Finland, and the Netherlands will make the upcoming elections of the European Parliament the most competitive elections in the history of the European Parliament. But considering the growing popularity of far right-wing groups in Europe and the increasing possibility of their victory in the polls, it will sound a warning for Europe.
Mahmoud Fazeli, Analyst of international affairs
Strategic Council Online—Opinion– The passage of 21,000 vessels and the transit of 57% of the world’s energy through the Bab al-Mandeb route has turned this region into one of the most important routes for the transfer of goods globally. A considerable amount of crude oil, diesel, and other oil products from the Middle East are transported to Europe, and Russian oil goes to India and China through this route.
Mahmoud Fazeli—Analyst of international affairs
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis, who traveled to Britain for an official visit, was ignored by the host in an undiplomatic move, and his planned meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was canceled and caused tension between the two countries. Following Sunak’s decision to cancel the meeting, security measures to be implemented for the Greek delegation were also canceled, which was a sign of the height of disrespect to the Greek Prime Minister. This British move is due to the differences between the two countries over returning the historic Parthenon statues, which are illegally kept in the London Museum, and Britain refuses to return them.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Members of the European Parliament recently criticized Turkey’s approach towards Russia and the country’s non-compliance with Moscow’s sanctions, lack of restricting Russian media amid that country’s special military operations in Ukraine, strengthening trade relations with Russia, Turkey’s hosting Russian citizens and Ankara’s refrain from joining European sanctions against Russia. In its report, the European Parliament expressed concern over Turkey’s decreasing alignment with the foreign and defense policy of the European Union. From the point of view of the European Parliament, Ankara and Brussels should find other ways for cooperation other than Turkey’s accession to the European Union because accession is not possible at present.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: The recent meeting of foreign ministers of Turkey and Greece in Ankara was held in a friendly atmosphere under the influence of Greece’s aid to Turkey following the two deadly earthquakes in Turkey and then Turkey’s condolences to Greece for the deadly train accident earlier this year. This meeting was held after the meeting of Turkish President Erdogan and Greek Conservative Prime Minister Mitsotakis on the sidelines of the NATO meeting in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, in July. In recent negotiations, the foreign ministers of the two countries discussed old disputes such as the Cyprus issue, the stalled process of Turkey’s membership in the European Union and illegal immigration, the framework for strengthening economic and commercial cooperation, and the development of cooperation in fields such as transportation, maritime cooperation, trade, and technology, environment protection and fighting against natural disasters.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: During the visit of the Indian Prime Minister Modi to Greece, which is considered the first visit of the prime minister of that country after 1983, topics such as the gradual improvement of bilateral relations with Greece and a broad framework of bilateral cooperation focusing on the economic, tourism, agriculture, and defense sectors, establishing direct flights between the two countries and climate changes were discussed. Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis considers India a factor of peace and security and a bridge of cooperation between the three continents, considers this trip a “turning point,” and hopes that the relations will be upgraded to a “strategic partnership.” He has announced that the target of the conservative Greek government is to double the value of trade between the two countries in the next four years.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: The informal meeting of the leaders of the Western Balkan countries and the Balkan countries that are members of the European Union was held at the initiative of Mr. Mitsotakis, the conservative Prime Minister of Greece, and attended by Mrs. von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, Charles Michel, President of the European Union Council, and Mr. Zelensky, President of Ukraine. The Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, prime ministers of Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, and North Macedonia, the president of Moldova, the president of Montenegro, and the president of Serbia also participated in the meeting.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Although the United States withdrew its support for the ambitious 2,000-kilometer Eastern Mediterranean natural gas pipeline project, known as EastMed, about a year and a half ago, its consortium known as Posidon, which consists of “Depa,” the operator of Greek Gas Network and “Edison” Energy Group, continues its engineering studies which are expected to be completed by the end of 2023.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announced during the recent visit of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Egypt that his country is considering a quadrilateral meeting in Cairo between the heads of Egypt, Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus to discuss the tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean and bring together views regarding the demarcation of maritime borders and the possibility of Turkey joining the East Mediterranean Gas Forum.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Eight years after military aggression and civil war in Yemen, 22 million Yemeni people, equivalent to two-thirds of the country’s population, live with humanitarian aid. The extent of the suffering of Yemeni children due to the deterioration of livelihood and health conditions after years of siege and war in that country is indicative of a humanitarian disaster in Yemen. The catastrophic situation of Yemeni children requires increased efforts to provide emergency aid to deal with such a crisis and save the lives of millions of children. International organizations have announced that 11 million Yemeni children need immediate support and aid, and more than 2 million suffer from severe malnutrition. Children are the biggest victims of such a dire situation, which in those few years have been dealing with death, hunger, displacement, physical disabilities, health problems and diseases caused by lack of food or unhealthy nutrition, lack of medical system, unsafe water, and bad economic condition.
Mahmoud Fazeli – International affairs analyst
Strategic Council Online – Note: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent trip to Iraq, after his last visit to Baghdad 13 years ago, is considered one of the most important political, economic, and security developments in the relations between the two countries.
Hamid Khoshayand- an expert on regional issues
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on subcontinental issues said that India and the United Arab Emirates are working on the first phase of the creation of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, known as the IMEC Corridor (ArabMed), which is an alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz and China’s Silk Road plan. Although there are some speculations that with the continuation of the war in Gaza and the unrest in the Middle East, work on this corridor may be sidelined.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Caucasus affairs said: Following news reports that the Kremlin has implicitly confirmed that Russian peacekeepers are withdrawing from the Nagorno-Karabakh region and taking their weapons and equipment with them, this question is seriously raised: Does Russia want to hand over the South Caucasus region to the West?
Strategic Council Online – Opinion: The Zionist regime is trying to “psychologically exploit” the recent events in the region to divert the world public opinion from the crimes this regime is committing in Gaza. Examining the atmosphere prevailing in the political and media circles of the Zionist regime and the centers aligned with it at the regional and international level shows that this regime seeks to “highlight and dominate” the recent tensions with the Islamic Republic of Iran so that it could reduce the heavy pressure that is felt in the domestic, regional, and international public opinion and even European governments against the Gaza war.
Hamid Khoshayand – expert on regional issues
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on regional issues said: One of the strategic and long-term dimensions of Iran’s tough missile-drone response to the Occupied Territories will be the further withdrawal of the Zionist regime from its positions in the Gaza war.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on West Asian issues said: In the last hours of April 14, the Islamic Republic of Iran launched a missile and drone attack against the Occupied Territories, which continued until the next morning. This was despite Iran’s prior notification to some regional and transregional countries about the certainty of our country’s response and military action; America and Israel could not prevent this attack.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A Caucasus affairs expert said: “If the trend of divergence among regional countries, especially Armenia and Azerbaijan, from Russia accelerates, Russians may show a more serious reaction and even prevent the traditional regional order change using force.”
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on European issues said that France’s relations with the Republic of Azerbaijan have become tense due to the dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.